Parking meters



Dec. 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,915,1

PARKING METERS Filed Oct. 15, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,915,153

PARKING METERS Filed Oct. 15, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 2 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,91

PARKING METERS Filed Oct. 15, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,915,163

PARKING METERS Filed Oct. 15, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Dec. 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,915,163

PARKING METERS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 15, 1956 A I. Pl

FIG.6

FIG.7

Dec. 1, 1959 CARL-AXEL ANDERSSON 2,915,163

PARKING METERS e Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Oct. 15, 1956 United States Patent PARKING METERS Carl-Axel Andersson, Hagersten, Sweden, assignor to Trafik- & Vagmarken Aktiebolag, Stockholm, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application October 15, 1956, Serial No. 615,996

Claims priority, application Sweden October 15, 1955 2 Claims. (Cl. 19454) This invention relates to improvements in parking meters which are provided with time recorders operated by clockworks and adjustable by means of an operating knob and an entrainment mechanism for parking periods of different lengths after the insertion of a coin in the coin slots of the meter, the value of which coin corresponds to the parking time.

The invention has for its object to provide a parking meter mechanism of simplified design and to make it impossible to realize an unpaid-for recording of the parking time.

A common fault in many parking meter mechanisms is that, once the coin release connects the setting knob to the parking time indicator, a dishonest person can manipulate the knob by short oscillatory movements in such a way as to throw the time indicator to record a longer time than he has paid for. A principal feature of this invention is to provide novel disconnecting means to disconnect the knob from the time indicator when the direction of rotation of the knob is reversed, and to lock the mechanism in this disconnected arrangement until the knob is returned to its starting position, where the coin release mechanism again controls the operation, thus defeating dishonest manipulation of the setting knob.

Another feature of the invention is that the path of movement of the entrainment mechanism corresponding to the different coin values is determined by a regulating disk fixedly connected to the operating knob and rotatable from an initial position against the action of a return spring through a given maximum angle corresponding to a higher coin value, said regulating disk having an abutment or pin cooperating with a stationarily mounted stop which can be moved aside for a higher coin value but is adapted to limit the rotation of the disk to an angle corresponding to a lower coin value, said stop being moved aside by a coin feeler means which is movable by means of the regulating disk.

Further objects of the invention and the advantages gained thereby will become apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of the invention. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a parking meter,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the meter on a larger scale, with the operating parts in their normal position of rest,

Fig. 3 is a section approximately on line III-III in Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a section approximately on line IV-IV in Fig. 2, but the operating parts are shown in an operated position,

Fig. 5 is a view of details as seen from the right in Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a cross section through a slide,

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of said slide as seen from the left in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section approximately on line VIIIVIII in Fig. 2 and shows certain operating parts in normal position,

Fig. 9 corresponds to Fig. 8 but shows the parts in an operated position,

Fig. 10 corresponds to Figs. 8 and 9, but shows the parts in another operated position.

The parking meter illustrated in the drawings is secured with the lower part 2 of its housing to an upright 1. The lower part 2 of the housing contains a coin collecting container 3 and is connected to an upper part 4 of the housing which contains a clockwork 5, two dials '6 visible through a front wall 7 and a rear wall 7', and an operating mechanism including a knob 8 disposed outside the front wall 7 and mechanisms for time adjustthe regulating disk 12 is a gear 13 which is in permanent engagement with a toothed segment 14 pivotally mounted on a shaft 15. An arm 16 fixed to the body of the toothed segment is hingedly connected to a piston rod 17 having a piston movable in an oil brake cylinder 18.

Said cylinder 18 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 19.

The brake 1419 prevents an undesirable, rapid rotation of the regulating disk 12. The regulating disk is rotated clockwise by means of the knob 8 for obtaining a parking time corresponding to a coin inserted in the parking meter. A return spring (not shown) returns said disk 12 counter-clockwise.

As shown in Fig. 3, the regulating disk 12 has an outwardly open groove 21 at its periphery. In the initial position shown, a pin 22 carried by a rectilinearly reciprocable slide 23 is engaged in said groove 21. A feeler arm 24 is pivotally mounted in said slide 23 on a shaft 25. The outer end of the arm 24 rests upon a bar 26 having a stop 27. Unless deflected by a coin as described below, stop 27 confines arm 24 and slide 23 to a slight movement which is not effective to operate the mechanism, thus effectively locking the mechanism in the zero or starting position shown in Fig. 3. The arm 24 has two oblique cam surfaces 28 and 29, of which the cam surface 28 can feel a larger coin and the cam surface 29 a smaller coin. In the initial position of the slide 23 shown in Fig. 3 said cam surfaces are situated somewhat to the right of a coin channel 30 for larger coins and a coin channel 31 for smaller coins, respectively. The coin channels are in communication with the coin slots 32 and 33 of the meter (Fig. l), the slot 32 being intended for larger coins and slot 33 for smaller ones.

As appears from Figs. 6 and 7, the slide 23 has two parallel walls 35 and 36. The wall 35 lies adjacent the front wall 7 of the meter and is guided by strips 37 and 38 on the inside of the front wall, while the other slide wall 36 is movable along the upper edge of an intermediate wall 39 of the meter frame. The slide wall 35 has coin passages 40, which in the initial position of the slide are aligned with the coin slots 32 and 33, and the slide wall 36 is provided with coin passages 41 offset in the direction of movement of the slide in such a way that only after the slide has been moved into an extreme position are said coin passages aligned with the coin slots 30 and 31. At the insertion in the coin slots the coins are able freely to pass into the coin channels in which they are arrested by the rear slide wall 36. When after that the regulating disk 12 is rotated clockwise by means of the knob 8, the slide 23 is moved with the intermediary of the groove 21 and pin 22 towards its extreme posiand is moved upwardly to a position in which it goes free from the stop 27. When the slide reaches the extreme position the coin passages 41 occupy a position in alignment with the coin channels, and the coins can roll out of the coin channels and into the coin collecting container 3 of the parking meter. In this extreme position of the slide the coin slots 32 and 33 are blocked by the front wall 35 of the slide so that neither coins nor other articles can be inserted through the slots for an unauthorized actuation of the mechanism. Such a blocking of the coin slots occurs at the displacement of the slide from initial position at so early a stage that the feeler arm 24 has not yet been moved into engagement with the stop 27 or an inserted coin. The feeler arm 24 thus retains the position shown in Fig. 3 when the coin slots are blocked, and during the distance covered up to the stop 27 it is completely inoperative in relation to the remaining parts of the mechanism. The arm 24 is guided in slot-shaped recesses 42 at the top edge of each coin channel 30, 31, said slots having such a depth that the cam surfaces 28 and 29 of the arm may engage with a coin inserted in the coin channel. When this has occurred, the arm 24 is swung upwardly into either of two positions. One position which is reached with the aid of a smaller coin in cooperation with the cam surface 29 is the uppermost position of the arm 24-, in which said arm during the displacement of the slide by means of the regulating disk freely passes the stop 27 and also an abutment 45 on the lower portion of an arm 48 swingable on a shaft 46 and actuated by a spring 47, said arm 48 being provided with a laterally directed stop arm 49 designed to cooperate with an abutment or a pin 50 on the regulating disk 12. In the extreme position of the slide the pin 22 on the slide has been disengaged from the groove 21 in the regulating disk 12 and bears against the trailing edge 52 of the disk (as seen in the windingup direction) which trailing edge is circular and concentrio wit-h the shaft 9. As a result thereof the slide is retained in its extreme position during the continued rotation of the regulating disk, which movement in the present instance proceeds until the pin 51 on the disk engages the stop arm 49. In this position the regulating disk has been turned through approximately 45 corresponding to a parking time of half an hour according to the embodiment shown, and the pointers indicate this parking time on the dials 6. During the unwinding movement of the clockwork the pointers 10 move toward zero position. The regulating disk 12 immediately returns to the initial position under the action of the return spring and the braking mechanism 17, 18, during which movement the pin 22 on the slide in a certain angular position of the disk 12 is caught by the groove 21 whereby the slide is returned to its initial position together with the disk 12. For obtaining a reliable connection between the slide and the disk 12 the leading edge 53 of the groove (as seen in the winding-up direction) is prolonged radially outwardly so that at the return movement of the disk 12 said edge is engaged with the pin 22, moving it inwardly in the groove 21. The extreme position of the slide 23 is determined by the shaft 25 of the feeler arm abutting against the coin channel 31. The active position of the stop arm 49 is determined by the arm 48 being held in engagement with a fixedly mounted pin 54 by the action of the spring 47.

After the operation described above a coin can be inserted in the same coin channel or in the other coin channel. in the first case the operation is repeated and the pointers 19 are moved through further 45 so that the total parking time will amount to an hour. Coins can be inserted until full parking time has been obtained.

At the insertion in the coin channel 30 of a coin intended for said channel the full parking time is obtained in a single adjusting operation. The cam surface 28 of the feeler arm 24 is thereby engaged with the inserted coin and swung upwardly through such an angle that the arm freely passes the stop 27 and engages with the abutment on the swingably mounted arm 48. The distance that the slide is displaced and the length of the arm 48 are so adapted that the stop arm 49 is moved clockwise out of the path of the pin on the regulating disk 12 whereby said disk can be. rotated with the aid of the knob 8 through its maximum angle of rotation corresponding to the parking time for the higher coin value, i.c. according to the embodiment shown a two-hour parking time, which is indicated by the pointers 10. The regulating disk 12 returns in the manner described above together with the slide to the initial position.

An entrainment mechanism transmitting the movement of the regulating disk 12 to the main shaft 9 of the clockwork and to the pointers 10, is in part apparent from Figs. 2 and 3, while a separate view thereof is shown in Fig. 5. The mechanism is shown as seen from in front of the parking meter. The regulating disk 12 is shown by broken lines in Fig. 5. A pawl or catch 55 is pivotally mounted by means of a pin 56 near the periphery of the regulating disk 12 and a spring 126, extended between catch 55 and disk 12, tends to rotate the catch counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 5. At the rotation of the regulating disk in the operative direction the catch 55 is engaged with a toothed segment 57 which is fixedly connected to the main shaft 9 and bears a pin 58 which passes forwards through an arouate slot 159 in a disk 67 described in the following and a corresponding slot 59 in the regulating disk and is connected to an arm 61) which is fixedly connected to the pointer 10 at the front of the parking meter and rotatably mounted on the hub sleeve 11. The pointer 10 at the rear of the parking meter is fixed direct to the shaft 9. The catch 55 is held against the action of spring 120 in inoperative position during the first part of the movement of rotation of the regulating disk in that the catch is caused to bear against a cam surface 62 on an arm 63 which is mounted on a pin 64 and actuated by a spring 65 tending to turn the arm 63 upwardly so that a pin 66 on the arm is held frictionally engaged with a substantially circular disengaging disk 67 which is mounted on the shaft 9 for free rotation. The disk 67 which is thus under the action of a braking force has at its periphery a hook 63 and is provided with a pin 69 which is passed forwards through a recess 70 in the regu iating disk 12. The recess 71) has a larger Width than the diameter of the pin 69 to provide a lost motion between disks 12 and 67 so that the disk 67 is movable in relation to the regulating disk 12 through a given angle. Fig. 8 shows the regulating disk 12, the disengaging disk 67 and the toothed segment 57 in the position of rest. When by turning the operating knob 8 in one direction the regulating disk 12 is caused to rotate counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 8, the match 55 leaves the cam surface 62 on the arm 63 and engages with a tooth of the toothed segment 57 so that this segment is caused to partake in the movement of the regulating disk 12 while winding the spring of the clockwork, as the toothed segment 57 is secured to the shaft 9 and thus rotates it, to which shaft also one end of the main spring of the clockwork is fixed. The disengagement disk 67 does not partake in the first portion of the described rotation of the regulating disk 12 out of the position of rest according to Fig. 8 by reason of the lost motion connection 69, 70 between these parts and the braking of the disk 67 by the pin 66 of the arm 63, but after the regulating disk 12 has been turned somewhat more than through the angle corresponding to the center angle between two successive teeth of the toothed segment 57, the pin 69 abuts the edge of the recess '79 so that the disengagement disk 67 is positively carried along in the rotation of the regulating disk 12 counter-clockwise as seen in Figs. 8 and 9 against the action of the braking effect of the pin 66 exerted on the disk 67. Fig. 9 shows a stage of such counterclockwise rotation of the disengagement disk 67 also. If the operator now tries to obtain an additional parking time,

beyond that paid for by a coin inserted in the parking meter, by turning the operating knob 8 a distance back to bring the catch 55 to engage another tooth of the toothed segment 57, this Will fail for the following reasons. When it is tried'by means of the operating knob to turn back the regulating disk 12 in a clockwise direction from the position in Fig. 9, the disengagement disk 67 at first is not carried along in this movement by reason of the lost motion connection 69, 70 and the braking of the disk 67 as effected by thepin 66 of the arm 63. Therefore, during such clockwise rotation of the regulating disk 12 from the position in Fig. 9, the catch '55 mounted on the regulating disk 12 will meet the cam surface 121 of the disk 67 and be moved out of engagement with the toothed segment 57 and snap into engagement with the hook 68 of the disk 67 under the action of the spring 120 of the catch 55 (Fig. 5). The parts then occupy the position according to Fig. 10. When after the clockwise rotation of the disk 12 the operator again tries to turn the disk 12 counter-clockwise from the position in Fig. 10, the disk 67 will consequently be positively carried along due to the engagement between catch 55 and hook 68 without carrying along the toothed segment 57, as the catch 55 upon engagement with the hook 68 is out of engagement with the toothed segment 57. The catch 55 can be moved out of engagement with the book 68 of the disk 67 only by the parts being restored to normal position, in which a subsequent counter-clockwise rotation of the regulating disk 12 is prevented by the coin mechanism until a new coin has been inserted. When the parts are restored from the position in Fig. into normal position the catch 55 meets the cam surface 62 of the arm 63 and is moved out of engagement with the hook 68 of the disk 67 so that parts again occupy the initial position according to Figs. 5 and 8, except for the toothed segment 57 which of course remains in swung position, i.e. wound position of the clockwork, and is gradually returned to the initial position during the course of the paid-for parking time. The cam surface 62 has such a peripheral extension that the pawl or catch 55 is not engaged with the toothed segment during the displacement of the slide 23 to the position in which the feeler arm 24 at empty coin channels is engaged with the stop 27. By this arrangement the possibility of adjusting the pointers 10 without any insertion of coins is obviated. At the rotation of the regulating disk 12 after the insertion of a coin or coins the catch passes the cam surface 62 while the disengaging disk 67 is retained in the initial position by the braking force so thatthe catch can unimpededly engage the toothed segment 57 in front of the hook 68.

When the pointers 10 of the parking meter are at zero a recess 75 in each dial 6 is covered by a signal means 76, e.g. painted red, which indicates that the parking time is at an end. The signal means is located behind the dial, as will appear from Fig. 2, and designed in such a way that in moved-aside position it leaves said recess 75 entirely free. As will appear from Figs. 2 and 4, the signal means of the two dials are interconnected by a support member 77 having slot opening 78 in which engage bearing pins 79 mounted on the housing walls, 7 and 7 and parallel to the main shaft 9. The member 77 between the signal means is provided with a hook 80 for cooperation with a pin 81 mounted on the toothed segment 57 and parallel to the main shaft 9, said pin 81 at the clockwise rotation of the segment, as seen from the front of the parking meter, being engaged with the hook 80, raising the two signal means to the position shown in Fig. 4. In this position a spring-actuated blocking arm 82 is engaged with a flap 83 on one signal means so that the signal means are retained in the movedaside position during the entire parking time correspondon the blocking arm 82 whereby the signal means are ing to the coin inserted. When, however, the pointers 10 approach zero position during the return movement the pin 81 on the segment 57 is engaged with a pin 84 action of a spring 85. The pin 81 continues a small distance in bearing engagement with the pin 84 so that the outer end of the blocking arm 82 is engaged with one bearing pin 79 for the signal means. The clockwork is thus brought to stop. The pointers 10 then point exactly to zero.

To obtain an exact end position for the pointers at the Winding up of the clockwork a stop is provided in the form of a fixedly arranged set screw cooperating with v the pin 81 on the toothed segment 57.

In front of each dial'there is mounted a window glass covering the entire graduated disk and coplanar with the housing wall 7 and 7, respectively. A wall or disk 11-1, preferably in the same colour as the dial, is provided behind each signal means 76, so that during the parking time the dial displays a substantially semicircular surface of the same colour. As a result, the expiration of the parking time is clearly indicated as the signal means 76 have a brightly deviating colour.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A parking meter comprising an operating shaft, a clockwork connected to said shaft to rotate said shaft in a first direction at a constant rate, stop means limiting the rotation of said shaft by means of said clockwork in said first direction and establishing a zero position of said shaft, a control member rotatably mounted on said shaft, a manual control knob for rotating said control means in a second direction from a starting position, a coin freed mechanism normally locking said control member and control knob in said starting position and allowing rotation of said control means by means of said control knob in said second direction upon insertion of a coin in said coin freed mechanism, a ratchet wheel means fixed to said operating shaft, a pawl pivotally mounted on said control member and biased to engage said ratchet wheel means for rotating said shaft in said second direction when said control member is rotated by said knob in said second direction, a disengagement member rotatably mounted on said shaft, drag means bearing against said disengagement member and resisting the rotation thereof, a lost motion connection between said disengagement member and said control member allowing rotation of said control member through a limited angle in relation to said disengagement member before said disengagement member is rotated by said control member through said lost motion connection, catch means on said disengagement member camming said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet wheel means when said control member is rotated in said first direc, tion in relation to said disengagement member the limited angle allowed by said lost motion connection and holding said pawl out of engagement with said ratchet wheel means during subsequent rotation of said control member in either direction, and means freeing said pawl from said catch means upon return of said control member to said starting position.

2. A parking meter in accordance with claim 1 wherein said means freeing said pawl from said catch means comprises a cam adjacent said catch means when said control member is in its starting position, said last-named cam engaging said pawl and holding it clear of said ratchet wheel means in said starting position.

References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 578,994 Jussem Mar. 16, 1897 2,268,716 Michaels Jan. 6, 1942 2,563,182 Michaels Aug. 7, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 291,476 Great Britain June 1, 192a 

